Virginia Athletics announced today a number of enhancements to the game day experience for home football games during the 2019 season, including … beer!

The enhancements also include a new sound system as well as changes to entry procedures, the in-game presentation and concessions offerings.

“We’re committed to improve the game day experience for our fans,” said Virginia athletics director Carla Williams. “Our staff closely reviewed the survey feedback we received during and after the 2018 season and created plans to address a number of items that were consistently mentioned in the surveys. We will continue to ask our fans for their feedback so we can work to make the time they spend at Scott Stadium as enjoyable as possible.”

Concessions Enhancements

The price of bottled water for sale at concession stands has been reduced to $3. Two additional hydration stations will be available to provide complimentary water in sustainable cups. One hydration station is located inside the northwest gate on the outer concourse of the stadium near section 128. The other hydration station is located on the northeast side of the stadium on the outer concourse near section 104. The hydration stations will serve as a supplement to water fountains located throughout the facility.

Now, to the beer. Beverage gardens will be located inside Scott Stadium’s east and west gates and will serve beer, wine and hard cider to fans of legal drinking age. The beverage gardens will open 90 minutes before kickoff and will be open to the public. Beer, wine, hard cider, water and light snacks will be available for purchase. Guests 21 and older will be given a bracelet following an ID check. The bracelet will enable each guest to purchase two drinks at one time and up to four drinks during the game. All alcohol must be consumed inside each beverage garden and sales will end at the conclusion of the third quarter.

A point-of-sale system has been installed at concessions stands that is designed to improve the transaction time for each order.

New concessions offerings include: an assortment of tacos (Philly steak, Buffalo chicken and zucchini), Bojangles’ spicy chicken sandwiches, local Virginia sausages and bratwurst as well as vegetarian burgers and cheese steak sandwiches.

Pre-Game and Entry Procedure Enhancements

Live bands will be playing on the patio outside the Aquatic and Fitness Center starting one hour, 45 minutes before kickoff. Fan Fest will continue to be held inside the gymnasium at the AFC. Fan Fest includes inflatable games, youth activities and televisions displaying other games from around the country. Fan Fest will open 90 minutes before kickoff.

Pedestal scanners will be added at each gate. The pedestal scanners reduce the amount of time it takes to scan tickets at the gate and will help expedite entry into Scott Stadium.

Free bag check services will be located outside the east and west gates. The free bag check service enables fans to check bags that are not permitted inside the stadium and to pick up their bag(s) following the game. Space at the bag check locations is limited and fans are encouraged not to bring bags to Scott Stadium.

A reminder, the bag policy remains in place for the 2019 season. Bags must be clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and cannot exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″ or clear one-gallon plastic freezer bags (Ziploc bag or similar) are also permitted. Small clutch bags/wallets no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″ (with or without a handle or strap) can be taken into the stadium and will be subject to search.

Virginia Athletics has created a partnership with Lyft. Drop-off and pick-up areas will be located at McCormick Road (near the chemistry building) and at the bus stop at the UHall parking lot and at the bus stop located at the McCue lower parking lot. Lyft signage will be visible at all three locations to assist fans.

In-Game Enhancements

Scott Stadium will feature a new sound system for the 2019 system. The sound system will improve the clarity of the music, PA announcements and videos played on Hoo Vision and will more evenly distribute the sound across all seating sections.

The presentation to accompany the team’s entrance before the start of the game has been adjusted. These revisions include a new opening video to replace the Adventures of Cavman as a prelude to the Cavalier on horseback taking the field. Pyrotechnics and bursts of flames will accompany the entrance sequence. Fireworks will also be set off after Virginia scores during night games.

The Ting WiFi network has been optimized. WiFi will continue to be available for free to all fans during the season. Fans will be prompted to complete a one-time sign-in page upon registering to the network. Once a user has signed in, their mobile device will automatically be connected to the network at both Scott Stadium and John Paul Jones Arena. Fans will not be asked to complete the sign-in page again unless they are attempting to do so with a separate mobile device.

Tim Zawacki, the public address voice of Virginia men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse, will be the public address voice of Cavalier football this fall.

The game day script has been revised to enable more music from the Cavalier Marching Band and DJ Ron Manila to be played in-game. DJ Ron Manila will move into the student section as well.

A countdown clock will be located next to the red hat timeout coordinator on the field during each media timeout. The clock will display the time remaining in the timeout.

Interactive games for fans of all ages will once again be set-up outside the Hooville lower level end zone seating section in the south concourse. The games will be available to play when gates open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

Virginia Athletics will once again send post-game surveys to fans in addition to conducting a comprehensive survey at the end of the season to identify opportunities to improve the game day experience for fans of all ages.

Virginia Sports Mobile App

All fans are encouraged to download the Virginia Sports mobile app. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. The app features a comprehensive Game Day tab that enables fans to easily locate concessions, merchandise, restrooms and other in-venue amenities. Users of the app are encouraged to enable push notifications to receive timely updates, including inclement weather alerts on game day.

Team of Destiny: Inside UVA Basketball's improbable run

Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, by Jerry Ratcliffe and Chris Graham, is available for $25. The book, with additional reporting by Zach Pereles, Scott Ratcliffe and Scott German, will take you from the aftermath of the stunning first-round loss to UMBC in 2018, and how coach Tony Bennett and his team used that loss as the source of strength, through to the ACC regular-season championship, the run to the Final Four, and the thrilling overtime win over Texas Tech to win the 2019 national title, the first in school history.

Subscribe

Augusta Free Press content is available for free, as it has been since 2002, save for a disastrous one-month experiment at putting some content behind a pay wall back in 2009. (We won’t ever try that again. Almost killed us!) That said, it’s free to read, but it still costs us money to produce. The site is updated several times a day, every day, 365 days a year, 366 days on the leap year. (Stuff still happens on Christmas Day, is what we’re saying there.) AFP does well in drawing advertisers, but who couldn’t use an additional source of revenue? From time to time, readers ask us how they can support us, and we usually say, keep reading. Now we’re saying, you can drop us a few bucks, if you’re so inclined.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 106,970 other subscribers

Email Address

Augusta Free Press launched in 2002. The site serves as a portal into life in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia – in a region encompassing Augusta County, Albemarle County and Nelson County and the cities of Charlottesville, Staunton and Waynesboro, at the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail.